Welcome to the main discussion thread for the Marvel Cinematic Universe! This pinned post is here to establish some basic guidelines. All of the Media Forum rules
still apply.
- This thread is for talking about the live-action films, TV shows, animated works, and related content that use the Marvel brand, currently owned by Disney.
- While mild digressions are okay, discussion of the comic books should go in this thread
. Extended digressions may be thumped as off-topic.
- Spoilers for new releases should not be discussed without spoiler tagging for at least two weeks. Rather, each title should have a dedicated thread where that sort of conversation is held. We can mention new releases in a general sense, but please be courteous to people who don't want to be spoiled.
If you're posting tagged spoilers, make sure that the film or series is clearly identified outside the spoiler tagging. People need to know what will be spoiled before they choose to read the post.
Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
![]()
I figure that Howard just got the closest to replicating the serum itself after all these years, despite not having the blood sample.
And for all we know, maybe the new serum works perfectly. It's just that "good becomes great, bad becomes worse", and those Russian would-be-assassins didn't seem like the most honorable of folks.
Makes sense.
the formula is as much about who gets it as it is how it's done. In fact, are we sure the version Blonsky used was even flawed? With what we've learned about how the formula works, it's entirely possible that it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
One Strip! One Strip!I just figured it was a more advanced version of Zola's formula that he used on Bucky. Proto-SHIELD did have Zola.
Forever liveblogging the AvengersIt occurs that the Erskine formula, while good for making a Captain America, is a pretty shitty super soldier serum from a military standpoint.
Forever liveblogging the AvengersI asked this a few years ago in a review and it was discussed here in the folder "How did Zola get so evil?"
Not sure why Hammer or Batroc would be on the Raft. Neither of them are dangerous superhumans.
The only surviving supervillain in the MCU who'd make sense to be in there is Abomination, and he'd need a special cell rather than the ones we see.
You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!Doesn't mean it's an imperfect copy. The original serum deformed Schmidt's face and caused super-roided Rogers's body. It does mutate the recipient's physique.
I've been under the impression that the serum isn't the problem with replacing Captain America. The problem is what Erskine said: whatever you are, you become more. That's exactly what happened to Blonsky. It's what happened to the Winter Soldiers. More often than not, it's not going to mean you get a virtuous superhero ready to defend peace and justice.
In essence, the problem is that the serum doesn't work for what the Army wants it to do.
edited 10th May '16 4:15:58 PM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.When you all put it that way, the Serum actually seems a lot like drinking from Circe's cup; what you are inside is what you'll become outside.
And nobody trying to recreate the serum wants to hear that. They want something with predictable, recreate-able results that they can mass-produce, not some mystical potion that has custom results for everyone exposed to it. Although... since the MCU is bringing actual magic (as apposed to sufficiently advanced science) in with Dr. Strange, what if there actually was a mystical component to Erskine's formula?
Yeah, my thoughts exactly
Forever liveblogging the AvengersI like to think it was developed from the "heart herb" grown in Wakanda for Black Panthers, and then that goes into another headcanon about the Hulk and photosynthesis, but this is all just my theory.
Given how much of a powerhouse Captain America is against entire armies, the military shouldn't have been so pushy with Erskine's pleas. Sure, his demands for candidates were very stringent, but even a small team of Boy Scouts-turned-supersoldiers could've made far more of an impact in battle than a horde of maniac psychopaths who'd probably kill off each other.
edited 10th May '16 5:00:00 PM by Tuckerscreator
I can sorta see logic behind the Raft prison. As a U.N.-based entity, the Avengers would need a facility to imprison the people they arrest while they wait for trial. But where do you put the prisoners of a multinational organization that owns no territory of its own? Getting a member state to agree to building a prison to house them would be a conversation that needs to take place at some point, but that takes time.
International waters is a good place to put the U.N.'s super-prison until they can get one or two of their states to agree to build one inside their borders, if they ever do.
edited 10th May '16 5:02:52 PM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.That would involve Pym feeling cooperative
I don't think that happens with MCU Pym
Forever liveblogging the Avengers

That is a good question of how a blood sample could exist given how Agent Carter seemed to go out of its way to joss this possibility. I mean I know the movies aren't always in continuity with the shows (or at all if the show is AOS), but Agent Carter has a fairly strong connection to the MCU.
It's kind of comparable to Ultron being Killed Off for Real in that comics logic says that of course Ultron will come back, just as it would say that somehow someone would get their hands on Steve's blood, but the presentation appeared to explicitly rule that out, if that makes sense.